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Caspian Gull
(Larus cachinnans)
: "White-headed Gull"
Size: 55-60 cm; wing span: 1.38-1.47 m
Weight: 680-1600 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Caspian Gulls are large, white-headed gulls.
They take four years to reach maturity, so there are five different
phases of plumage.
During the breeding season adult
Caspian Gulls have an all-white head and front. The belly can have
a light-grey tinge.
The wings are grey, with black tips on the outer primaries, which
in turn have white spots on them. In-flight the wings show white
leading and trailing edges. The tail is white.
Outside the breeding season the back of the head can be slightly
streaked grey, but otherwise, except for wear and tear, the
plumage remains
the same.
Their most prominent (but not unique!) feature is the rather
long, slender
yellow bill with a red spot near the tip of the lower mandible.
The irises are pale-grey. The colour of the legs and feet can
vary, from fleshy pale-pink via grey to yellow.
There are 4 different
immature plumages.
The plumage of
third-year birds already closely resembles that of adults,
but with some residual grey streaking on the head, nape of the neck
and some of the flight feathers.
The bill is mostly dark-yellow, with a black spot (across both
mandibles) near the tip. The legs and feet are pale-pink.
Second-year birds have an almost all-white head, a mostly light-grey
front and mottled grey sides. The wings are mostly grey, with
some mottling on the coverts; the tips of the outer primaries
and the tail are black. The legs and feet are pale-pink.
The irises are quite dark. The frontal half of the bill is
partly black, while the rest is dark-yellow.
Except for their almost all-white head and chest and a grey belly,
first-year Caspian Gulls are mottled grey all over, with some
streaking on the sides, but a bolder scalloped pattern on the wings.
The irises are dark. The bill is black with a greyish base.
Juveniles have an all-black bill, a strongly streaked neck,
a finely scalloped front and boldly scalloped brownish-grey wings.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Caspian
Gull at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
The global distribution of the Caspian Gull is available
HERE
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Caspian Gulls are a partly migratory species.
Most of the population breeds around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea
and further eastwards into Central Asia, to north-western China. In
recent decades they have been extending their range north-westwards
into eastern Europe, breeding in Poland and eastern Germany. Some birds
migrate South during the winter, to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf,
while others disperse into Western Europe, mostly around the Baltic
Sea, but also towards the coastline of the North Sea.
In Arabia Caspian Gulls often arrive during the time of
dispersal at the end of the breeding season, but some birds
also stay through the summer. They are commonly found around
the entire Arabian coastline, including in particular the
northern coastline of Oman, in winter.
Outside the breeding season Caspian Gulls are mostly coastal
species.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Caspian Gulls were first spotted by us at Ras Al-Hadd, near the
eastern tip of Oman, in May 2010.
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Photos |
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Direct comparison between four second-year Caspian Gulls and two
second-year Sooty
Gulls
[Ras Al-Hadd, May 2010]
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Food, Diet |
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Like all gulls, Caspian Gulls are opportunistic. They will feed on
anything from carrion and discarded entrails to fish, chicks of
other bird species and eggs.
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Call/s
